Back Floats and Jesus.

Teaching swimming lessons is a blessing for the bank account ... and for teachable moments.

I have one student this week who previously refused to learn to back float. Back floating is really not difficult in and of itself. All-in-all it’s a trust issue. Though it frustrates me frequently, I get it. Laying on your back in a body of water that is deeper than you are tall with a near stranger promising to keep you from drowning, though they keep letting go to get you to do it on your own, would be a frightful experience.

But this week, we had a breakthrough! Little Paige is learning [notice the tense of that verb. Not past tense. Not future. Present and ongoing … ] to float. She is learning to trust. The key with her, I found, is getting her to look at me when she is laying on the water. Her tendency is to drop her chin to her chest so that she can see the water and freak out at just the right time. It’s humorous, yes. But it sure doesn’t teach her to swim.

I’ve discovered, though, that if I stand by her head, holding her in front of me by the shoulders, that her face is right underneath mine, and, if I can get her to look me in the eyes, she can float for as long as her little heart desires.

Because she’s looking me in the eyes. Because my eyes tell her she can trust me.

The first time Paige successfully floated by looking me in the eyes, they teared up. Isn’t that us and Jesus? How many times does He have to tell me to look Him in the eyes and stop looking at how quickly the water is rising? How many times do I drop my spiritual chin so that I can see my circumstances, so I can jump ship just in time? How often I self-defend; how often I self-protect and self-preserve.

I don’t really know what it means to look in Jesus’ eyes on a day to day basis. At least when I ask Paige to do so she has a physical goal, something within her literal sight to look at. Jesus doesn’t seem tangible today. But I know He is. I know it in my head. So why can’t I see Him? Why does it feel like I keep sinking? Maybe my eyes are on me. Maybe they’re on the water. Maybe I haven’t even agreed to float yet.

Whatever the reason, I want my eyes on Him. Whatever that means. I want Him to be able to say, “Because she’s looking me in the eyes. Because My eyes tell her she can trust Me.”